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Whether or not you're a fan of Cubism, everyone knows Picasso--and the Picasso Museum in Barcelona…read moreis an absolute must to understand the origins of this brilliant mind. There a handful of Picasso Museums around the world, but the one in Barcelona is worth a visit as this was not only the first museum dedicated to Picasso's work, but also the only one created while he was alive. The museum is sectioned off by eras of Picasso's life, starting with his early formal training under his father, Jose Ruiz, at age 7 and his earlier works when his family were his muses. I always knew Picasso was talented, but I had no idea just how truly multifaceted he was. Entry is by timed ticket, and can be reserved for free 4 days before your actual visit between certain hours. NOTE: If you need to use the bathroom, hold on to your ticket--you'll need to scan it for re-entry.

If you are an architecture buff like my husband and I, consider a visit to Antoni Gaudi's Casa…read moreMila, aka La Pedrera. We did the nighttime tour on the first night of our honeymoon and it was spectacular. A great start to our trip and a truly architecturally magical evening we will never forget. From the light show on the truly unique rooftop facades to ending in the courtyard with a glass of cava.

This house has easy online ticket purchase and plenty of open hours. The view from the roof is…read moreawesome, and the architectural models upstairs are fascinating. I'm honestly not the biggest fan of Gaudi so I don't find this house to be a must-see in Spain for travelers, especially for €25 entry.

The Gothic Quarter is the oldest section of Barcelona. My husband and I hired a guide to take us on…read morea private tour of Barcelona, and one of my favorite parts of our tour was walking around the Gothic Quarter. We enjoyed seeing the remains of a Roman wall, the Barcelona Cathedral, the Mercado de La Boqueria, the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, cobblestone alleyways, public squares, stores, restaurants, and more. If you are planning a vacation for Barcelona, then I highly recommend that you stroll through the Gothic Quarter.

Most of my adventures through the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona were of historic buildings and…read morechurches which are surrounded by retail shops and unique tapas and cafe eateries. The wife and I got the pleasure to take a four hour food and wine tour throughout the Gothic Quarter providing us the opportunity to taste true Barcelona at four different locations. The area has a dark, wet and slightly unsettling gloomy atmosphere with lots of unsanctioned wall graffiti, although gave it added character to the area.

The Cathedral of Barcelona, which is also called the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia,…read morewas built in the Gothic style from 1298 to the 15th century. It is an active church that provides masses, confessions, and other sacraments. It also provides tours for 16 euros and up (as of the time of this review). I understand that some people think that a church should be free to enter, but I also understand that many tourists are not practicing Catholics and that the church needs to bring in revenue to pay its bills. My tour guide took my husband and me to the exterior of this church and explained its architecture and history. We did not pay for an interior tour. It is a lovely church to see.

The cathedral was beautiful and the rooftop views were simply stunning. Definitely worth a visit…read morewhen visiting Barcelona.

A place to meet in the Heart of Barcelona…read more Placa de Catalunya is where my family most recently went to meet our tour guide Luke from Barkeno for the Ultimate Gaudí Experience. Since I had been to Placa de Catalunya in the past, it's a stop on the Barcelona Turistic Bus tour, I felt confident meeting there. Enter the most popular running race in Barcelona. Cursa de Corte Ingles is a free race that goes a little over 10K as it weaves through Barcelona. It goes through the Olympic stadium where you can live out your Olympic dreams as you run through the stadium and then cross the finish line in, you guessed it, Placa de Catalunya. It was really interesting to weave through the runners as we navigated our family of five to meet Luke and get our headphones for our Barkeno Guru Walk. We even used the underground Metro station twice to cross under the race. It was much harder when we were in a group of 25! Love the energy and spirit of both visits. Two different days. Very unique experiences. A beautiful place in the Heart of Barcelona.

While exploring the L'Eixample area, you can also visit the Plaça de Catalunya, which houses the…read morehistoric older style buildings and the more recent build architecture. There's a ton of space to walk around and see gorgeous sculptures, architecture, and find a lot of local eateries, shops, and activities! You can see the gorgeous Casa Battlo, walk through Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, stroll down La Rambla, or find a little tapas cafe and just watch the bustling streets and sidewalks come alive in this busy area. If you're looking for a place to stay while in Barcelona, this is an area to look near, because you will have so much to do and see right outside your front door!

Great place to walk and enjoy a beautiful day in the heart of Barcelona! There's shops and…read morerestaurants of all kinds as well as beautiful architecture looming over you on each side of the wide avenue. The only downside was all the construction that was really bottlenecking flow and making a ton of grinding and jack hammering noise. Plenty of people watching, shopping and dining opportunities, though!

Fyi right now they are doing construction and its a hot mess. We didnt know so we stayed in the…read morearea thinking it was going to be the happening stop. Plus because of construction its harder to walk around so not fun to get around.

Stun-ning. No other word for this hidden gem of an architectural site that was once a hospital when…read moredesigners cared about the aesthetics of a hospital and not solely function. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site for good reason. The campus alone is one example after another of exquisite brickwork, mosaics, color, and Catalan ingenuity. If you loved Casa Battlo and Parc Guell, and you didn't know about this heritage site, do yourself a favor and swing in for even half-an-hour to buzz through and photograph the exquisite buildings collected herein. 10 min walk from Sagrada Familia. Mamma mia. Jaw dropping inside and out. How wise of Spain to recognize -- and preserve, and share -- this breathtakingly artful site.

Beautiful architecture in the exterior and interior of the building. The pictures do not do this…read moreplace justice. I was amazed by the amount of detail in the architecture, the ceilings and moldings. This sight is a must for anyone who enjoys architectural art.

Amazing museum, a must see! The layout is essentially 2 sets of the museum. One upstairs on…read moreseveral floors and one downstairs with the ruins. Staff super friendly and accommodating...with wheelchair accessible exhibits and loan. The layout and design flowed wonderfully, through Roman and current events. Great discussion of the various periods and history of Barcelona. Included contemporary demographics with nice visuals. The ruins were fascinating as well. Spent 2 blissful hours exploring and would come back!

Wow, just what an unexpected treat. I was in town for a conference and tried to get in some sight…read moreseeing. I had walked to the Gothic quarter, seen markets, and visited the beach. I stopped in here based on a recommendation from a colleague. My whole family is made up of history teachers so I love getting to visit sites like this. The upper floors of the museum have some artifacts and do a nice job providing a high level overview of the history of Barcelona. It starts with Barcelona as a Roman Colony and goes through the modern era. The main attraction though is ruins underground. You can see artifacts from the Roman Era and Medieval Era. It was really neat. Mostly it is just foundations, but there are some tiled areas that take you back in time. The cost is modest, and your ticket is good for several days. It was a great way to spend ~1.5 hours learning about Barcelona.

Placa de la Seu! This is the plaza out in front of the…read moreBarcelona Cathedral. You go down those little steps to this big wide open space where there is always something going down around there. When I went, there was a good sized flea market selling antiques of all sort at fairly high prices, but with an interesting inventory of historic items. There was also the saturday night dance, when a little band sets up and plays classical-like music and all the townsfolk get together and do this dance where everyone forms in a circle and dances around together. If you stand around and listen long enough, they have ushers who hit you up for a donation- giving you a sticker once you contribute, so they know to leave you alone after that. When there wasn't the market or the public dancing going on, they had some street performers out showing off their skills. There's a few cool pieces of public art through this scenic square, you could spend all afternoon in this place and just people watch! I understand there's parking under this square.

Hard to miss and it's huge Beautiful museum…read more It's Catalonian which Barcelona has this divided populations and language and even politics and laws But nonetheless it's a great place to wander around

Looking up from Plaça d'Espanya toward the Montjuïc area, the classical Italian facade of the Museu…read moreNacional d'Art de Catalunya sits atop a hill like an elaborate crown perched on a pedestal. You can't miss it. Walking by, if you weren't sure what building this was, you'd google it for sure. Taking the direct route from the traffic roundabout (and nearest metro station, as well as many bus stops) to the front entrance entails many stairs. Plan a good 10 minutes to walk up, that is if you don't stop for photos along the way. From the side streets, where I came from, there is the option of outdoor escalators (how novel! I haven't seen many outdoor ones before) for part of the trek upwards. Upon entering the ticket counter is to the left/center right inside the door, there is the option to purchase online though I bought them in person and it took only a few minutes with no line on a Friday in September. The ground floor lobby is right beyond the counters and provides direct access to the 6 main areas of the museum - Medieval Gothic art, Medieval Romanesque art, Renaissance and Baroque art, Modern art, Numismatics (coins and medals), and the main auditorium/atrium which also contains the cafe and a massive pipe organ. The exhibits were very thorough and for the most part chronological. I was impressed by their extensive Romanesque fresco collection and maintenance, and also enjoyed the modern art and Art Nouveau/Art Deco furniture collection. Walking around the total museum can easily take 2-3 hours, more if you want to read all the descriptions. The museum attendants are quite detailed in checking your tickets at the entry of each exhibition hall. Larger bags and backpacks must be carried in front of you not on your back. Bathrooms are available. Parking for cars and buses is also available though aside from tour groups it looked like majority of patrons walked there.